SWISS hiring more staff to counter flight delays

Flight delays have been caused by a number of causes, including strikes. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

Swiss International Air Lines plans to hire 1,000 cabin crew and 70 new pilots this year as a partial antidote to schedule disruption.

The airline expects to see 20% more passengers this year while at the same time facing a series of challenges. SWISS hired 800 new cabin personnel last year.

Issues include bottlenecks in European air traffic control, adverse weather conditions, personnel and infrastructure issues and industrial action, SWISS Head of Operations Oliver Buchhofer told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Thursday.

SWISS has set itself the goal of at least 80% of flights taking off with a delay of no than 15 minutes. So far this year, this has been achieved for 65% of flights.

In May and June, strike action in Germany, Italy and at Geneva airport contributed to 21% of all flights taking off more than 30 minutes late.

Last month, Buchhofer bemoaned the “unprecedented” spate of industrial action the airline is facing.

The expected increase in passengers will also test the capacity of Swissport, the company that runs ground handling and hospitality at airports.

Swissport are also on a hiring spree this year, targeting 1,200 new staff, including 600 new employees in Zurich.